Catalyst
by supa-dupa-lemonade
Summary: Ash always had the determination and will to be a great Pokemon trainer but everyone needs that extra something to push them farther. The spark that separates the masters from the average. Charizard leaving is that spark, the catalyst to harden Ash's will and push him and his Pokemon higher than most thought possible for a rookie from Pallet Town.


" _And coming up after the break, we recap the Indigo League, from the lackluster finale between trainers Assunta and John, to up and comer Ash Ketchum's fall from grace as a promising rookie in the preliminaries to his embarrassing outing in the top 16 due to an unruly Char-"_

Ash growled in frustration as he turned the TV off, throwing the remote carelessly onto the coffee table. Laying back on the couch the boy sighed, running a hand through his spiky midnight locks in annoyance.

It was almost midnight now and it had been a long day and night but he couldn't find it in himself to feel tired. He'd just gotten home to Pallet early in the afternoon and found a party waiting for him and Gary at the lab to celebrate the first trainers from town in years to make it through the preliminaries. It had been nice, seeing everyone from town again and having a relaxed night.

What quickly became apparent though was that everyone was picking their words very carefully around him, not bringing up his battle with Ritchie or even a whisper of Charizard's less than satisfactory performance. Thinking of the fire-type only deepened his frown.

Charmander had been the best Pokémon a trainer could ask for. Loyal and caring, he loved to battle and held a hunger for strength with a drive for training. Then he evolved and all the power he had looked for, had trained for, rolled into his body through rapid growth and the fact his larger body could handle more power. Now he didn't have any of the traits that Ash had valued in the Pokémon in his first evolution.

Misty and Brock were already asleep he knew, in his own room and the guest room respectively. They would be leaving in the morning, both going to check on their families and gyms. He couldn't get comfortable on the couch and he knew it wasn't the couch's fault, even with Pikachu's usually comfortable weight on his chest being absent as the mouse lay curled up with Bulbasaur and a sprawled out Squirtle on a small futon on the floor. He needed to talk to Professor Oak. The man always gave him great advice and he could use some right now. It wasn't 1 AM yet; he should still be at the lab if his mom's nagging of the professor held any merit.

xX Catalyst Xx

The professor was indeed awake Ash noticed as he stepped into the office, it was dark, only a dull table lamp lighting up the space. The man looked up from a small folder of papers as he entered before gesturing to one of the chairs sitting opposite himself.

"Does you mother know you're here?" Oak asked causing Ash to grin sheepishly.

"She was sleeping, didn't want to wake her"

"I bet you didn't leave a note either so she wont flip out if she wakes up and you're not on the couch." Ash only laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

Oak squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose then let out a deep sigh "so what can I do for you young man?"

"I… I want to talk about my Pokémon" Ash spoke quietly "I've watched the news, I know what people are saying about me. You've spent more time watching some of my Pokémon than even me. What do you think? And tell me the truth, I want to know."

Ash straightened up as the professor disregarded the folder completely and crossed his arms making eye contact and holding it, the younger man doing his best to return the stare resolutely. Seeming to find what he was looking for, Oak leaned forward on his elbows, tenting his hands in front of his face.

"My opinion? For friends and companions the Pokémon you have were great choices, they are all dedicated to you and the bonds you hold with some are almost strong enough to be tangible." Oak complimented before frowning "As battlers, only Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard will really have a place on a battlefield in the future."

Ash noticed he had clenched his jaw and fisted his hands as the professor finished, but for once held his tongue. He'd asked for this, he _needed_ to hear this. With that in mind Ash forced himself to relax, taking a breath and nodding at the older man to continue.

"You've always kept me up to date on your adventure. You've called and talked with me more than any other trainer I've given a starting Pokémon too, so I feel like I can give you an honest opinion. You'll notice that Gary, while owning around 40 Pokémon, some being multiples of the same evolutionary line, barely used a dozen of them in the conference. Say what you will about his methods, but the boy knows the battlers from the docile. You've done quite well in your finding of partners. The Pokémon I mentioned earlier, your Pidgeot and Butterfree whom you released as well as the Primeape you transferred ownership of were all fighters. The Haunter you gave to Sabrina and Muk are not fighters, they lack the drive and lust to battle, only doing so and finding enjoyment in the idea that it makes you happy. Trust me on Muk, he is attached to my hip for most of the day and the pile of sludge doesn't have a confrontational bone in his body." Oak stopped and grimaced "Well technically he has no bones in his body."

Ash let a small smile grace his face at the unintentional joke.

"Now, Kingler and your Tauros. Kingler actually did enjoy fighting, she was a scrappy Krabby, quite the handful for my office assistants. Then, Gary's Krabby evolved before Indigo and she took to following him around quite often, and he showed some interest back although I'm sure he kept some aloofness due to the substantial size difference. I daresay it might even have pushed her to evolving in the tournament as she did. If I'm not mistaken she might be settling down with an egg and a family soon, Kingler mate for life you know. As for your Tauros, just as they were in the safari zone, they are quite content among themselves, fighting for position in the herd and stampeding across the hundreds of acres my ranch holds. They enjoy battling and I'm sure they would anytime you called on them, but they are much more concerned about their place in the herd hierarchy than any battle you would have."

The young trainer absorbed it all, leaning back deeply into the chair he sat in. It wasn't really news to him, he had suspicions and his Krabby's infatuation had been pointed out to him by the professor before, it was one of the reasons he usually held onto his main team, rarely switching out Pokémon.

"So I guess it's just me, Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle then." Ash commented to himself lowly, but Oak still managed to pick it up and frowned.

"Charizard as well."

Ash frowned "I've always done what was best for my Pokémon, what _they_ wanted. Butterfree wanted to be with his mate so I released him, Primeape wanted to train with Anthony so I transferred him. I do what's best for them and let them make their choices." He said, his fingertips grazing over the lone poke ball still attached to his belt.

"What are you going to with Charizard Ash" Oak asked warily, noticing the unconscious gesture the boy had made.

The young trainer only looked up into the professor's eyes with a hard gaze "I'm going to give him what he wants."

xX Catalyst Xx

Ash trudged his way to the outskirts of town and few hundred feet down route 1 a still slightly sleepy trio of Pokémon following in his wake, all three comically bumping into his leg as the boy stopped abruptly. Unclipping the lone poke ball the young trainer enlarged it and released its contents, ignoring the hesitant and now wide-awake eyes of Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Pikachu. He had told them what was happening when he woke them but wasn't sure if all of it really got through their sleepy haze.

The giant fire lizard materialized and gave a sleepy look around before collapsing in a heap to the ground and closing his eyes.

"Charizard" Ash spoke evenly, causing one large draconian eye to open and flicker towards its trainer. Stepping forward the boy dropped the now minimized poke ball at the dragon's snout and crouched to become somewhat level with the lazy lizard "I'm done".

Just like that both eyes were open and the fire type was fully focused on his trainer.

"I'm done." Ash reiterated, "I don't let peoples opinions get to me. I don't care that I've become a joke. That I'm being laughed at because I sent a Pokémon to battle that obviously didn't listen to me or respect me. I don't care about that. I care about my friends, I care what Brock and Misty think, I care what you and Pikachu and Bulbasaur and Squirtle think. Back when it was us and Pidgeotto and you were still a Charmander, we were travelling around, the five of us, and it was the happiest I've been. We kept each other alive and healthy, you guys turned what would have been the worst night of my life stranded on a freezing mountain, into one of the greatest moments I think I'll ever experience. We became _family_ on that night, it was the first time since my dad walked out that I gained family instead of losing it. That was special for me."

Ash stood up and stepped back, tugging his hat low and ducking his head to hide the tears that threatened to fall.

"I know Damien did some damage when he abandoned you" Ash stated as the ground around him slightly shook as the seven, almost eight-foot tall fire type lumbered to his feet and stood when Ash brought up his previous trainer. " I know what it's like to feel abandoned by someone you thought you loved and I'm about to feel it again cause this isn't me abandoning you. This is you abandoning us" Ash spoke, voice wavering as he said it and gestured to his companions and taking a look to see how they were reacting. Bulbasaur was standing resolute and grim faced, Pikachu and Squirtle emulating the grass type but Ash could slight the quiver in their lips and brighter shine in their eyes from unshed tears.

He wasn't the only one who had been left behind before.

"I don't know what changed when you evolved and got so strong. Why you lost your respect for me, for our friendship. For our _family_. But it's obvious you're not happy with me and I don't know any other way to make you happy except to let you go." Tears now freely flowed and Ash tucked his head even more, not able to look at one of his first Pokémon. "I told Professor Oak to leave you as my Pokémon and only to set you as released if he's notified that your ball has been broken, so you don't have to worry about being caught as long as the Pokeball is intact… And if you find ano-" his voice hitched and he gulped deeply "another trainer, then you can just smash the ball and be caught by them…" Ash trailed off then found some strength and raised his face to look up at Charizard, one of his first companions, one of the pillars of his Pokémon career and life for the last year.

"I know you're not happy with me, so I'm giving you the choice to leave or stay, because I don't walk away from family. I won't walk away from you if you don't walk away from me" Ash spoke resolutely looking up at the Pokémon that easily dwarfed him.

For a moment there was silence as they stared at each other, then Charizard turned away and began flapping his wings causing a gust of air that almost knocked Ash off his feet, the fire type stooped down and scooped up the poke ball before he launched into the air with a mighty push. Then, after a few moments there was nothing, only the sounds of the forest surrounding them,

The tears came harder and the strength he had found left, sending the trainer to his hands and knees.

"Charmander…." Ash whispered memories flashing through his mind. Soft fur snapped him out of his daze and the trainer opened his eyes to his three Pokémon huddled in front of him, Pikachu and Squirtle both resting their paws on a cheek while Bulbasaur had wrapped a vine around his arm, their eyes radiating concern and sorrow.

Concern and sorrow for him.

The boy smiled, it was small, an almost imperceptible tilt of his lips as tears still freely fell "you're the best friends a guy could ask for" Ash said, thanking them "I know, I know this is hard but we're gonna get through it. together." Ash told them wiping the tears from his face and sniffling a bit "We're going to become strong, strong enough to show Charizard that we are worth his respect. He made his choice and we aren't going to let it affect us or hold us back. He changed when he evolved but I know I can trust you guys, we're a family and no matter how big you are, if you evolve or not doesn't matter to me cause you'll always be family, just like Charizard still is." Ash told them with a smile, gaining smiles back.

Ash's smile changed into a face of shock as suddenly route 1 was bathed in bright light from two of his three Pokémon and he was forced to look away or be temporarily blinded.

xX Catalyst Xx

 _Ring Ring Ring, Phone Call, Phone Call!_

 _Ring Ring Rin-_

Ash sprinted down the stairs and to the house phone and quickly picked up the receiver, the screen lighting up with Professor Oak's face "Ah! Ash my boy, just who I was calling for. I was hoping you could do me a big favor. Well it would be us helping each other out." 

"Yeah, professor I could probably help out. whatcha need?"

"Your mom told me about the funk you've been in" Oak started causing Ash to scowl.

Ya he hadn't done much the last few days, just lying around the house with his Pokémon. But he just lost his first conference and one of his first Pokémon. He needed some time to process everything. And it was pretty nice to just lie around for what felt like the first in a year.

"I have an 'errand'" Oak stated with air quotes "I was going to have to choose one of my assistants to do it but after talking to your mother I think it would be great for you. The Orange Islands are south of Cinnabar Island in between Kanto and Hoenn. I have a colleague there her name is Professor Philena Ivy and she's been studying quite the interesting item but has had no luck with it so far. I would like you to travel to Valencia Island to retrieve the item for me."

"Ya I could do that, no problem" Ash replied with a smile.

"Ah, I never told you how this would help you. You see, the Orange Islands have their own league outside of the actual Pokémon league with 4 gyms and a champion. Another benefit is that the Orange Islands is a tourist region, people go there to escape their regions, indulge in the white sand beaches, the warm ocean and local flora and fauna. The Pokémon League events aren't super popular only the finals really are, so people there probably wont even recognize you."

Now _that_ interested Ash. A little anonymity would be nice, ever since he'd been home his phone had rang a few times a day with reporters and people with battle blogs hoping for an interview. He refused them all.

"I know you and Gary were planning on starting the Johto League in a couple of months, it should take just less than that to complete the gym challenges and have your battle with the champion. Last ferry out for the week leaves in a couple hours" Oak told him holding a ticket up "Otherwise you'll have to take the old blimp ri-"

"I'll be right over!" Ash called out, slamming the receiver down "Pikachu! Wartortle! Ivysaur! It's time for another adventure!"

xX Catalyst Xx

AN: People love Charizard so I might get blasted a bit for this. Don't worry though, he'll be back, I just thought Ash might need something to push him into becoming a better trainer earlier and losing his ace in the hole will be that push. He only has three Pokémon with him now but he'll catch the rest of a full team of six.


End file.
